December 30, 2009

Writing is a lot like farming.

We raised our family on a farm in Iowa. Some years the conditions were just right: perfect temperatures, exact amount of needed rainfall came at the right times, and there were few insects. The farmers worked hard those years, and most were rewarded with bumper crops.

Publishing has had its bumper crop years when conditions were just right too. Writers worked hard then as well, but the rewards came more easily.

Lean Years

Some years on the farm, however, were very lean, and there were even a few crop failures. Farmers probably worked even harder those years, but lack of rain, freezing temperatures, and bugs combined to give even the hardest-working farmers scant return for their effort.

Publishing seems to be having one of those years-or two. What are you going to do about it?

Will you be like the farmers who threw up their hands and sold out? Or will you be like those who hunkered down, refigured their profits and losses, studied all the current research on new farming practices, applied themselves, and survived until the economy turned around?

Out with the Old, In with the New

Yesterday my friend Sherryl and I had our semi-annual Skype talk to review 2009 goals and set goals for 2010. Because of the economy, we are both doing some things differently. Because we both need to make a living, one thing we are studying is our ROI (return on investment).

What writing are we doing that is actually bringing in the most income? Can we duplicate that? What writing projects and activities are taking the most time but returning very little? What can we do to increase our chances next year of surviving and thriving during the current economic situation?

Individualized Plan

It’s good to hope for a bumper crop, but in times like these, it takes planning ahead now, plus hard (although usually enjoyable) work later. The plans Sherryl and I made for 2010 aren’t identical because our goals aren’t identical.

It’s not a “one size fits all” kind of planning you need to do. My writing “ground” has a few more weedy bad habits to deal with than Sherryl’s, for one thing. And I’m lacking some writing skills she possesses–I will work on those.

But we both need to overhaul our rusting equipment a bit (a few health issues), and we’ve both been horribly bad most of 2009 at adding fertilizer to our writing ground (self-care activities to feed the writer’s soul.)

Ready, Set, Go!

Next Monday we’ll be in 2010 already. I urge you to take some time before then to review your progress in 2009, see where your strengths and weaknesses are, then make a plan to improve and grow as a writer next year. In the end, we can let these “lean years” make us better writers, if we want to.

3 Comments »

1. 

   Lean times are perfect to forget about marketing and focus on craft instead. And to put on food on the table, do something more reliable (for me it’s teaching).

   A corollary: hard times help us to see where our focus ought to be.

   Comment by Vijaya — December 30, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

2. 

   Thanks Kristi, for putting out your newsletter faithfully! I always find it inspiring. The keyword list on the left is great for times when I want to choose my motivation or information. I’ve recently made some major life changes that were long overdue. And I’m setting my intention on FINALLY finishing my writing course at the institute. “Bumper Crop” is something I’ll probably read again several times along the way. I hope you have a very happy and prosperous New Year! Kathie

   Comment by Kathie Langston — December 30, 2009 @ 3:45 pm

3. 

   I’m struggling with the whole planning phase right now. I’m just starting out, have only submitted four or five pieces (all but one rejected, and that last one is pending), so I really have no benchmark to measure progress against. Just getting a story accepted is a goal on my list – a paying market would be a bonus! lol! I know almost nothing about current practices (another goal is to do more research). I certainly don’t know what my strengths and weaknesses are. I love to write, I love to read, and I want to get people to read what I write. That’s basically all I got! Intimidating in itself, nevermind the fact that this is probably a really bad time to start (story of my life!)

   Oh yes – another of my goals-and this is in writing-is “Don’t give up”. I can only hope I come up with what turns out to be the right track. All this adds up to viewing the upcoming year with a significant amount of trepidation…

   Comment by Yvette — December 30, 2009 @ 9:42 pm

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